Customer experience in Amazon's New York book store: Why not just buy it online?

The first and overwhelming impression when visiting Amazon’s first New York location is that of familiarity.

The look and feel, wooden shelves with white on black signage just above is reminiscent of the British retailer Waterstones, which operates in the same sector. Further, second-tier typography, this time white on royal blue, has shades of WHSmith, another old-hand.